2020 First Intersectional Peony Bloom of the Season, Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'

Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'
It is always exciting to me when the first peony of the season opens 2020 First Tree Peony Blooms of the Year!, but it is even more exciting when the first intersectional peony bloom opens in the season. Intersectional Peonies have quickly found their way into my heart for sure. I think they may be my favorite type of peonies (at least at this time anyway)! The first one opened in my garden yesterday - Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst', with a definite hint of lavender/purple - my favorite color! These peonies are especially great in Southern gardens, and there are several on our Southern Peony Best Performers list, including this one 2016 Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst' Best Performer - Week 4. If you don't yet own an intersectional peony, I definitely recommend trying one in your own garden. You'll quickly fall in love! :-)


Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Amethyst'

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' from Hirt's Gardens on Ebay

Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' from Hirt's Gardens on Ebay
Well, my first Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' came from Tree Peony Garden in 2013, a nursery that used to grow tree peonies and is now closed for business. As you know this peony died this past winter, 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' Dies!! I just couldn't wait to replace it. So I decided to purchase it from Hirt's Gardens on Ebay, as I have had pretty good luck with Hirt's Gardens in the past.


Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' from Hirt's Gardens on Ebay
I kept this box in isolation for 3 days before opening it as well, just like when 2020 Ordering Peonies on Etsy from ExoticseedsLatvia, and this peony root too seems to be just fine, healthy, plump, with five obvious eyes on it ready to grow. This plant definitely appears to be a tissue culture plant, as it is small, with no obvious signs of division, which actually makes me feel a lot better about its potential authenticity. They even sent a nice little garden tag for it, with "Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory'" and a photo of the flower on it. Nice!


Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' from Hirt's Gardens on Ebay
For now I am just soaking this root, to help rehydrate any moisture it has lost. Next I will find a good spot to plant it - likely the same spot the old one was in - which means I'll probably be doing an autopsy on that old Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' (to the best of my abilities) to see if there is any visual evidence of what might have caused its demise. (Stay tuned for an upcoming article on that.) Then I'll fix the soil, add some lime and organic fertilizer and get it planted out. :-)


Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' from Hirt's Gardens on Ebay

2020 Ordering Peonies on Etsy from ExoticseedsLatvia

Itoh Peony 'Jazz' on Etsy
Yes, it's a little odd, but I just had to try it out. There was an ad on Etsy for an Intersectional Peony that I didn't have, "Itoh Peony 'JAZZ'. I'd never bought a peony on Etsy before, so I just couldn't resist. I also bought 5 daylilies from another seller on there while I was at it, but that's a different story... Anyway I placed this order on March 6, and it actually arrived at the end of last week. I've been isolating my packages and mail for 3 days before I open them (due to coronavirus COVID-19).


Latvijas PASTS Box from Etsy
The box came with "Latvijas PASTS" tape all over it, which I at first thought was the company name, but Google helped me confirm that this is actually the name of the Latvian Post Office. I don't think I've ever gotten anything from Latvia before. Anyway I finally opened this box on Sunday, and I actually found two roots inside the box, "Peony Root 'Jazz'" and "Peony Root Yellow". They both appear to be quite healthy and ready to grow (definitely not dried up/dehydrated). So they did appear to make the international trip just fine.


Itoh Peony 'Jazz' & Peony Yellow Gift
from ExoticseedsLatvia on Etsy
I am curious to see if these peony roots or authentic or not. They do not appear to be cloned tissue culture plants. They definitely seem to be divisions, albeit small ones. The Peony 'Jazz' root has 3 small eyes, and the yellow peony gift just has one. However they both have about the same amount of root (just a small one). I'm just hoping they're both not a very unattractive yellow Itoh peony like a dishonest seller on Ebay was sending a few years ago. Only time will tell, at least the truth will be revealed here. :-)


Itoh Peony 'Jazz' from Etsy

Itoh Peony 'Jazz' from Etsy

Peony Yellow Gift from Etsy

Peony Yellow Gift from Etsy

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' Dies!!

I guess it must have been a rough winter this year. I can't say I remember it being that bad. Mostly likely it was a rather mild winter, with a sudden drop in the overnight low temperature. I don't remember anything too drastic, but I'm guessing there must have been a sizeable temperature differential. As I'm watching things come back to life this spring (or not come back to life), I've noticed that I've lost 2 blueberry bushes that I've had for years, a small dogwood tree, and that my 3 other larger dogwood trees were killed back by about half! This is all very surprising.


Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' Dies!
I guess the biggest surprise of all is the big blank spot in my intersectional peony garden where Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' used to grow. I must say I've never had an intersectional peony die before, and I've been growing intersectional peonies for 13 years now! I've been growing this Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' since 2013 - so 7 years now. Luckily that is the only plant that was killed. I guess I will have to order a replacement for Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory'.


Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' Dies!

Intersectional Peony 'Callie's Memory' Dies!
However it was not the only plant that was affected. The Intersectional Peony 'Cora Louise' which I've had since 2008 - so 12 years - was also damaged. It was a huge plant last year, and now this year it only has 2 very short, one leaved shoots on it. I really do hope it can recover. I have also noticed several other peonies with blasted buds on them or no buds at all. I'm not sure whether that is due to this same winter kill freeze or some spring frost damage. Boy, Mother Nature sure can be cruel sometimes. I guess as they say, only the strong survive.


Intersectional Peony 'Cora Louise' Damaged
As you can see this Intersectional Peony 'Cora Louise' has been loaded with stems in the past. Now it sadly has just 2 very tiny foliage shoots. Those shoots are very immature and will not grow large enough to support a flower. I suppose I should just be grateful that this one is still alive! I guess this is a lesson to me to check my peonies for exposed roots in the fall that may be in need of some additional soil covering and to check for winter heaving during the winter to make sure that roots and crowns are protected. I've never seen quite this kind of winter devastation before for my peonies.


Intersectional Peony 'Cora Louise' Damaged
If a peony dies here, it is usually from lack of liking their growing conditions in the warmer months - not enough sun (bad planting location, location became shady), not enough water (too dry in summer). I have also seen a new peony rot overwinter from too much water (soggy soil & lots of rain during winter), that kind of thing. I have never seen winter freeze death and/or damage to an established peony, especially an intersectional. Also those reason for dying are usually affecting herbaceous peonies. Intersectional peonies are usually much more impervious to those kinds of things. I guess this winter kill for these intersectional peonies points to their tree peony qualities and heritage, since I know that tree peonies can have those issues during winter.

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Grows Intersectional Foliage

Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' 3/22
Well, I am excited to report that I finally have intersectional peony foliage on my Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'. I purchased this Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' from K. Van Bourgondien this time, 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives from K. Van Bourgondien. Unlike the first time I tried to purchase it from Tulip World, when I actually got herbaceous peony foliage, 2018 Tulip World Offers Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' for $12.95! You can see how this peony foliage is already showing hints of the intersectional peony foliage in the first photo with the pointy cut leaf edges already starting to poke out.


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' 3/30
I have both the Tulip World (fake/herbaceous) peony and the K. Van Bourgondien (presumably correct intersectional) peony planted side by side now, and it looks like the herbaceous peony (fake 'Scrumdidleyumptious') may actually bloom this year. I will have to post a picture of the flower if/when it does bloom this year. The price on these two was a bit different - $12.95 vs. $35.00, which goes along with the saying, you get what you pay for! I am just relieved to have intersectional peony foliage this time. It makes me feel a lot better on the accuracy of this Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' identity. Now just to wait to see it bloom!!! :-)


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' 4/1

2020 Intersectional Peony Calendar

I just got this calendar in the mail. Okay, well, I guess I hadn't opened my mail since last month... (don't tell). When I did get to this envelope last week, I set it aside figuring it was something else. When I went to open it today, I got this nice surprise! I must say the Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream' is my favorite intersectional peony in the whole calendar. I am still looking for a source for that one (after one failed attempt at purchasing it on Ebay, 2018 Ebay Peony Seller Reviews). I can't seem to find it anywhere! If anyone knows of a source for that Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream', please let me know! I think I may have a way to get an Intersectional Peony 'All That Jazz' (more on that later...), and I don't know what the name of Mr. November is, but I certainly would like to find out! ;-)


2020 Intersectional Peony Calendar

Intersectional Peony 'All That Jazz'

Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream'

Intersectional Peony

2020 Intersectional Peony Seedling Pops Up!

Intersectional Peony Seedling Pops Up! (3/19)
Every year I get nervous waiting for my intersectional peony seedlings to pop up. The first one popped up on 3/19 this year! Finally! The rest of them have not shown up yet. So I'm still a little nervous - wondering if a critter got to them, a disease, or perhaps the weather. Who knows? For now it is still a waiting game to see when or if the rest of them will show up. Hopefully they do. When I looked back, it seems like the intersectional peony seedings didn't show up until almost mid April last year (4/10), 2019 I Finally DID IT! My First Intersectional Peony Seedling-s!. So I guess this lone seedling popped up early, and I'm guessing the others will show up when they feel like it (sometime next month).


Intersectional Peony Seedling Sign
'Martha W.' X Nate Bremer's Rainbow
This particular seedling is a cross of Peony 'Martha W.' and what I've nicknamed Nate Bremer's Rainbow. Nate was kind enough to allow people to collect pollen from his gorgeous tree peony garden when the APS convention came to tour it in 2016. I was not prepared so was gifted a few envelopes to collect pollen from Don Smith. Since I didn't have enough envelopes to collect the tree peony pollen all separately, I put several different varieties of pollen from Nate's garden in an envelope and labeled it "Nate Bremer's Rainbow" (since I put so many different colorful tree peony pollens in it). If you'd like to know more about Nate and his hybridizing program, check out our interview with him, 2016 Peony Hybridizer Interview - Nate Bremer.


Intersectional Peony Seedling Pops Up! (3/26)

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Grows Intersectional Foliage

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' on 3/19
I am happy to report that my Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' plant I ordered from Spring Hill Nursery, 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' at Spring Hill Nursery, is growing intersectional peony foliage! So that actually bodes well in my opinion to the end result being favorable for the peony being the actual cultivar purchased. If you were holding out to see how these fared in my garden before deciding to purchase one, now might be the time to snag one (or two like I did) of these intersectional peonies. Uh oh, too late. I just checked the Spring Hill web site, and it looks like these are out of stock. I hope some of you were able to get one before they sold out!


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' on 3/11
These were originally small potted plants without any actual foliage when they arrived, 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives from Spring Hill Nursery, just a small pinkish bud on each of them that was ready to pop! However as you can see from the photos, a hint of their foliage was apparent. The tiny folded up foliage appeared to show the signature jagged edges of intersectional peony foliage (a trait they receive from their tree peony parent), which is quite different than the rounded edges of herbaceous peony foliage. As the foliage unfolded the leaf structure become more and more apparent. Now it is obvious that these are certainly intersectional peony plants.


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' on 3/13
Also notice the structure of the stem. The stems on these are much shorter than immature herbaceous peonies, and they have a sort of "stacked" appearance, whereas new herbaceous peony foliage tends to send up a longer, taller shoot. Now both of the plant I purchased from Spring Hill have grown into small, healthy intersectional peony plants. I can't wait to see how these look when they bloom. Now the waiting begins... This is definitely going to take a few years. I hope these peonies are worth the wait, as I haven't seen this cultivar offered anywhere else yet!


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' on 3/16

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' on 3/18

2020 Bye Bye Imposter Itohs, Hello Favorite Intersectional Peonies!!

Intersectional Peony 'Yumi' in Japanese Garden
I got tired of every year hoping the intersectional peonies I had right outside my back door were going to be beautiful intersectional peony plants filled with lush, full double blossoms. They were supposed to be Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream' and Intersectional Peony 'Yumi'. Both were imposters, intersectional peonies - they were, but the named cultivars they claimed to be - they were not. I purchased both of them from the same seller on Ebay, atskor8, 2018 Ebay Peony Seller Reviews, and they both turned out to be mostly single, yellow intersectional peonies with a very small number of flowers of small size and unimpressive qualities. It was especially disappointing since I had these planted in some of the most prime real estate in the garden, with partially protected, mostly moist, sunny locations!


Intersectional Peony 'Yumi'
Every year I keep thinking that I've already ripped out the imposters and replaced them with "real" cultivars, and every spring I am disappointed again. So this year before they bloomed, I finally remembered that I still needed to take those lame peonies out of my best spots and put in something good! I had already ordered a replacement for Intersectional Peony 'Yumi' from a different vendor on Ebay in 2016, garden*breeze, whose product turned out to be authentic. So I just needed to get rid of that imposter, which ended up in the compost pile, and put the real one in its place. Easy peasy.


Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' in Deck Garden
As for the imposter Intersectional Peony 'Impossible Dream', that one too went to the compost pile. In keeping with the yellow theme in that area, I decided to put a division of Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' in its place. Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella' really is one of the best intersectional peonies there is. It is an APS Gold Medal Winner and has also been awarded the APS Award of Landscape Merit. It is also a Southern Peony Best Performer and consistently puts on a show every year, 2012 Peony 'Bartzella' Best Performer - Week 5. I am excited to see both of these gorgeous intersectional peonies take off in their new spots!!!


Intersectional Peony 'Bartzella'

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives from K. Van Bourgondien

Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives
from K. Van Bourgondien
Remember that order I placed last month for another try at Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'? 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' - Here We Go Again!! Well, it actually arrived last week. That was really fast. It actually arrived one week to the day after placing the order. Unlike the intersectional peonies I ordered from Spring Hill Nursery, 2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives from Spring Hill Nursery, this peony was not potted, growing, and carefully packed. It was bagged in a vented plastic bag containing peat moss and shipped in the box with a couple of air bubbles to minimize damage and breakage in transit. It's a little disappointing in comparison. However this root was much cheaper. Hopefully the savings in price is from the treatment and presentation of the plant and not the authenticity this time!


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Bagged
I was able to get the root planted quickly, and I decided to plant it right next to one of the fake ones I received from Tulip World, 2019 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Intersectional Peony Update, for comparison purposes. It will be interesting to see how the foliage compares when they are both up and growing. I hope this one wakes up soon, as it looks like it has been storage perhaps. I'm also hoping this one is the real thing. The root I got this time from K. Van Bourgondien looks much different that the roots I got from Tulip World, 2018 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Arrives. Here's hoping it's correct!!! :-)


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' Bagged

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives from Spring Hill Nursery

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Arrives
My order of Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' arrived this week from Spring Hill Nursery. The plants arrived well packaged and quite safe from spills and accidents just as they did the last time I placed an intersectional peony order with Spring Hill Nursery, 2019 Spring Hill Nursery Peony Order Arrives. Each peony is potted and growing in a small pot. The pots are bagged and twist tied, and then securely attached to cardboard boxes with viewing panes that are wrapped in an additional layer of shrink wrapped plastic. Last year the intersectional peonies I ordered had foliage visible in those viewing panes, while the Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' plants I ordered this year did not.


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Order Arrives

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Potted and Bagged
The big difference may be the timing of the order. Last year I received my order in mid April and the peonies were fully leafed out, which made it easy to identify the foliage as intersectional. This year I received my order in early March, and the peonies have not yet leafed out, which makes them a bit harder to verify as intersectional. However one of the two peonies received has started to break dormancy, as the bud has visibly opened, and a tiny leaflet has emerged. This tiny leaflet does appear to be very tree peony like in appearance, which leads me to believe these are likely intersectional peonies. I'd like to verify the full foliage once it emerges to make the final determination. So I'll keep you posted as the peony foliage continues to mature.


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Breaking Dormancy

Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' Still Dormant

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' - Here We Go Again!!

Not-Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious'
So. I'm pretty sure the Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' I ordered in 2018 Tulip World Offers Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' for $12.95! was a fake. Like not-even-an-intersectional-peony-fake. What peony it is, I'm not sure. However I'm pretty sure it's an herbaceous peony just from the foliage I saw come up last year in 2019, and the preliminary foliage I've seen pop up this year so far in 2020. This photo is actually from 2019. I'll have to post another picture whenever this plant actually blooms, since now I'm just curious. However I couldn't help but notice that K. Van Bourgondien is offering this Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdidleyumptious' this year (for a bit higher - but still reasonable price $35). Their web site says they ship this item in the spring. So I'll keep you posted on what this looks like when it arrives and what the foliage looks like if/(hopefully) when the foliage sprouts for me this spring.


Intersectional Peony 'Scrumdiddlyumptious'
at K. van Bourgondien

2020 Song Sparrow Offers 10% Off All Intersectional (Itoh) Peonies

Song Sparrow Offer 10% Off All Itoh Peonies
I just got an email yesterday saying that Song Sparrow is offering 10% off of all Itoh Peonies. In case you hadn't heard, this is pretty cool. I'm not sure if I've seen them offer a discount in the spring on their intersectional peonies. I know they offered a larger discount on intersectional peonies in the fall of 2018, 2018 Song Sparrow 25% Off All Itoh Peonies, but I don't think I've seen a spring discount before. The really nice thing about a spring discount is Song Sparrow sells their intersectional peonies as potted plants. So you have a chance of actually getting a bloom from your plant this year (in just a few short months)! Also according to the changes recorded on our 2020 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List, Song Sparrow actually lowered their prices on most of their intersectional peonies this year. So now you get an extra discount on top of their already lowered prices, and a potted, growing plant to boot! If you're interested in taking advantage of this sale, you better hurry! The last day to get the 10% discount is March 2, 2020!

2020 Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' at Spring Hill Nursery

I'm not sure if this is real or not, but since I had a bit of luck with the intersectional peonies I ordered from Spring Hill last year, 2018 Strawberry Crème Brûlée Intersectional Peony at Spring Hill Nursery, I decided to give it a try. This Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine' is obviously not registered with the American Peony Society. However that doesn't mean it couldn't be real. I am eager to see whether it is. I haven't seen an intersectional peony like this, except for Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma YeDo', 2017 Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma YeDo' Blooms!, which was a kind gift from a Southern gardening friend, 2017 First Intersectional Peony Gift from a Friend, and Intersectional Peony 'Sonoma Halo' - which I do not currently grow (still a bit too pricey for me - $200 is the lowest price for it on this year's Southern Peony 2020 Intersectional Peony Catalog Price Comparison List).


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine'
@ Spring Hill Nursery
Plus I found a coupon on one of my favorite coupon sites (Retail Me Not) for "BOGO FOR 1¢", and it worked on this Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine'. So I decided to give it a try. You still need to pay shipping & tax, so it came out to about $79 for 2 for me. It isn't super cheap, but it's much cheaper than their original price, $59 each (and cheaper than $200 for one!). The coupon code is 0474301, and it says it is good until March 25, 2020. So you still have a bit of time to use the coupon, but I'm not sure how long it will take for these peonies to sell out.


Intersectional Peony 'Duchesse de Lorraine'
@ Spring Hill Nursery
If you don't feel comfortable "taking a chance", I would recommend passing on this. You can just wait a few years for me to see if I actually got what they said I did. :-) In my last intersectional peony order I placed with them, 2019 Spring Hill Nursery Peony Order Arrives, the plants were all healthy, well packed, growing foliage already, and they definitely had intersectional peony foliage. So that's why I decided to take a chance on these. They are also selling Intersectional Peony 'Oochigeas' (which I picked up from them last year) and Intersectional Peony 'Magical Mystery Tour' (which I already grow), in case you're interested.